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5 security mistakes you make every day

1) Using the same username and password

You've heard it before many times, but let's say it again once more, because many people don't seem to pay much attention: don't use the same passwords for multiple times on different accounts, and be sure to change your passwords often at least once in a 3 months.

If you have trouble remembering long difficult passwords with symbols, get password manager app that does it for you.

Using the same password for everything is like having a master key for to open every lock that also opens your vault, starts your car and gives you access to all your bank accounts - if someone takes it, they will have access to your whole world.

Changing passwords often also a protection against the already regular data leaks that happen in large and small companies. If your login credentials perform on the web, it doesn't matter how many times if you recently changed them.

“Password-cracking techniques has advance a lot with time,” said Darren Guccione, CEO of Keeper Security.

"These criminals follow their victims on social media platforms for keywords to feed malware that use AI (artificial intelligence) to check different combinations till it cracks the password."

"Nobody likes long and difficult passwords with symbols, but they are more vital now in this era than ever," he told us. "And The simple passwords with your date of birth and car number plate that worked for you few years ago are probably not sufficient today."

2) Do not protect smartphones only with Screen lock

Once someone can get past your phone's lock screen, they can post to Facebook, read your email, copy your contacts, and probably order a series of Amazon electronic products as well. Still, about 15% of users still don't protect their phone with a PIN or some biometric scan method.

There are now plenty of fingerprint technologies and facial recognition even iris reading on the new device, so it’s better to use these features on your device and a long PIN code is still a secure means of protection (as long as you are not entering it slowly in front of someone).

You should definitely avoid is the screen unlock pattern, which is easier to copy, according to recent studies by the U.S. Naval Academy and the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMBC).

Research has proven that two-thirds of people can mimic a pattern after they have seen you only once unlocking the phone, compared to a six-digit PIN that is pretty difficult to copy only 1 in 10 contributors were able to replicate after a single sight.

"To safeguard against the people staring over your shoulder, Android unlock patterns may seem more secure to you, but our results show that 6-digit PINs provide better security from a people trying to recreate the access code sight over your shoulder," at UMBC, one of the researchers working on the eidetic memory study, told us.

3) Not using the two-factor authentication

We've already talked about common incidences of passwords and login details get leaked on the internet nowadays, for which, essentially needed both factors which makes it more secure in the way - in addition to your username and password, hackers also needs more information to give in by another device to log into your web account.

Most commonly used, one time use code generated application like google authenticator, or an SMS sent to your phone number, but whatever the method is, two-factor authentication provides double security.

It is possible these days to enable an account with two-factor protection almost everywhere: Google, Apple, Microsoft, Instagram, Dropbox, Facebook, Twitter, and Amazon.

The method for enabling two-factor authentication, in each platform, is quite simple - just find the rear sign for settings menu and head towards privacy and security settings.

If you are just surfing online or viewing an item at a virtual store, you will not need the two-factor authentication, McAfee member and chief scientist said. “However, if you are buying the item online, it is a totally different scenario, because you are now using your financial data on a website. You need the high level of security based on the amount you’re spending.”

"Hackers are not interested into a personal account secured with two-factor authentication, because it is not the simple and time consuming."

4) Sharing information on Social Media

Any data you share social media can be used to steal your identity, helpful in guessing your passwords, or answer security questions that is protecting your account - from an Instagram photos to your street name showing in a tweet and about your dog name in profile can also use for the security question.

Of course, sharing info on social media is the trend nowadays and not only in people of a certain age group, how weird and possibly dangerous once it felt to share photos on Facebook when the feature first came out. Still, there is no reason why you shouldn't think twice before sharing personal information on these sites.

This means marking your location only when needed (and when away from your home or office), keeping real names and personal details to a minimum, and familiarizing yourself with the tools you can use to restrict your audience to your posts.

"It is significant to know how you can restrict what someone can find out about you online," researcher at Kaspersky Lab, told. "Kaspersky Lab research shows that almost a third of people who use social media networks share their messages, check-ins and other personal information, not just with their friends, but with everyone who is online."

"If you wouldn't publish something about you in a newspaper page, don't publish it online."

5) Using Public Wi-Fi

It is very tempting to connect to any public Wi-Fi network to keep up to date on Snapchat, Twitter, and Facebook but you should never let your thirst for internet get in the way of your judgment of what is safe and what is not.

The problem with public WiFi is that everyone can connect to it, just like you, and that it makes it inherently less secure than your home network. If you absolutely have to use public WiFi, the safest way to stay online away from home is to buy a quality VPN package and create your own encrypted route to the internet.

If you don't want the spend on a VPN, there are still security measures you can take: instead of signing up for new ones, avoid doing anything important over public WiFi do not do banking or send emails and look for the HTTPS icon before entering any sensitive information.

"Public Wi-Fi hotspot is the convenient choice to always stay online, and is a great alternative to using our expensive phone data, However, free public WiFi is not secure."

Hackers and other organizations are always looking for security holes they can exploit: Public WiFi is the haven for them if you're not taking you online protection serious to keep your data safe.